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THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008500■Che JBastrop aducrtiscrTexas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977Volume 155, Number 15Bastrop, Texas18 pages in two sectionsSecond BHS teacher put on leaveBy Terry HagertyAssistant EditorAnother Bastrop HighSchool teacher suspected of"inappropriate" contact witha female student has been puton administrative leave.Joey Chapman, 36, whotaught 12 years at BHS, wasput on administrative leavelast week "pending the out-come of an investigation,"district officials said onMonday.It is the second and sepa-rate instance of such allegedconduct by a BHS teacher inthe past three months.In a letter sent home toparents of BHS students onMonday, Interim PrincipalJames Richardson said thedistrict "has received a reportthat a teacher on our campusallegedly had inappropriatecontact with a student."Although Richardson doesnot use Chapman's name inthe letter, district spokes-person Donald Williamsconfirmed on Tuesday it isChapman who is the subjectof the letter. Williams thenemphasized police investiga-tors have filed no charges.Karen Dooley, AssistantSuperintendent for HumanResources, said the allegedincident occurred in mid-March outside of BastropCounty. She declined toname the location and otherdetails because she said theThe Bastrop Advertiser photos/Jacqueline DavisLandon Holcomb, Jordan Hoskins and Kade Helmcamp, picturedabove, keep a sharp eye on their music notes while practicing theviolin. Beck Helmcamp, right, plays cello Saturday morning atOwens Music Store. He and 13 others are slated to perform forthe first time as a children's orchestra on June 14.Children^ orchestraprepares for spotlightBy Jacqueline DavisStaff WriterAt Owens Music Store Saturdaymorning, violins were tucked underchins, bows were sliding over stringsand all eyes in the back right cor-ner were carefully following musicnotes in the open books in front ofthem.A sweet, yet pleasantly imperfectmelody traveled through the air as10 musicians, ranging in age fromfive to 17, played violins, stringbass and cello. But it was more thanjust another music lesson for thechildren.Their director and music teacher,Bastrop resident Jill Helmcamp,was preparing them for their firstperformance as what she believesis Bastrop's only, and perhaps first,child orchestra.See ORCHESTRA, Page 3AaSmithville council denies Allied /aste rate increaseBy Jacqueline DavisStaff WriterThey've done it before, and Monday night theydid it again.The Smith ville City Council once again denieda rate increase to Allied Waste, the company con-tracted to cart away the city's trash twice a week.Citing increasing fuel and landfill prices, thecompany's municipal services manager SteveShannon asked the council to consider an addi-tional 12.3 percent rate increase on top of arequired 7.3 percent rate increase built into thecity's contract."We're not trying to increase our profit margin;"We're not trying to increaseour profit margin; we're simplytrying to get to a profit margin.-Steve Shannon,Allied Waste, Municipal Services Manageritwe're simply trying to get to a profit margin,'"Shannon said. "It will cut down on your long-termcosts, and I hope you didn't want one of your ser-vice providers bleeding."Shannon bolstered his request by saying othernearby cities had agreed to the rate increase, andthat Allied Waste was named by Forbes Magazinetwo years in a row for their trustworthiness due totheir transparent accounting practices.The council formed a united front against thesuggestion."Everybody's bleeding," said Council MemberLenel Tamez.Councilmember Mike Kahanek agreed."I was voted (in) by the citizens to protectthem," Kahanek said. "At the end of the day, wehave to do our job. We all feel the crunch rightnow, but so do our citizens."Mayor Mark Bunte sealed the issue by recom-See RATES, Page 2Ainvestigation is continuing bypolice who have jurisdiction.She said the incident did notoccur during a school-spon-sored event.Dooley said she decided toput Chapman on leave afterSee LEAVE, Page 2ACountyextendsruardiancontractBy Davis McAuleyEditorFollowing months oftalks with Guardian EMS,Bastrop County commission-ers agreed Monday to a newseven-year contract for thefirm to provide emergencymedical response across thecounty, including Bastrop,Elgin and Smithville.For the service, Guardianwill earn a subsidy of$383,000 in addition to insur-ance payments and othercharges.Pet. 2 Commissioner ClaraBeckett, who led the negotia-tions for the county, praisedthe new pact. "This contractis rock solid," she said. "Alot has been added to protectBastrop County."District Attorney BryanGoertz also gave it his bless-ing. "Legally, it's okay," hesaid.Complaints about ambu-lance response times, espe-cially in Smithville, prompt-ed commissioners to begin asearch last year to see if theycould attract a more respon-sive service provider. Afterstudying proposals fromGuardian and a competitor,the county opened talks withGuardian aimed at a newagreement.The new contract spellsout how quickly Guardianmust respond to life-threaten-ing and less urgent calls with-out facing possible financialpenalties. In Bastrop, Elginand Smithville, Guardian hasagreed to respond to the mostserious situations within lessSee EMS, Page 2AINSIDEFishing on the Colorado.Bastrop... Downtown & Around.Page 1BPage 7AWEATHER! INDEX■ Thursday's forecast:Partly CloudyHigh: 79°Low: 63°Rain: 40%■ Last week:High Low Prec.Saturday 70 46 noneSunday 72 41 noneMonday 68 35 noneTuesday NA NA NAClassified ads....3BCommunity ,...4AEducation ...8AReligion ...9ASports.. ....1B6566878602This newspaperis recyclableBastrop HS renovations cost increasedBy Terry HagertyAssistant EditorThe costs for Bastrop HighSchool additions and renova-tions have increased by approxi-mately $754,000 since last sum-mer, according to a recent reportby the main contractor on theproject.The original estimated proj-ect cost of $21,388,751 hasincreased to $21,923,394 undera "final construction budget,"said Steve McCleskey withBartlett Cocke L P.McCleskey told the Bastroptrustees during a March 25school board meeting that mostrecent escalation in costs —$317,912 — involved air con-ditioning and plumbing workon portable buildings, the sportsfield house and transportationfacilities.McCleskey said the costs ofthe work "came up significantlyhigher than we anticipated."The first price increase of$436,730 was approved bythe board in July 2007. Thoseincreases were due to extrawork required for site utilitiesand drainage.Henry Gideon, chief opera-tions officer for the district, saidthe price increases are not unusu-al for a project with the scope ofwork involved at BHS.Jail inmates, revenue on the rise for countyBy Jacqueline DavisStaff WriterIf the Bastrop County Jail'slocal inmate population remainssteady this year, the county justmight rake in more incomethan it first expected from rent-ing surplus jail space to theU.S. Marshal Service, SheriffRosanna Abreo said.On Monday, Abreo reportedhaving 121 U.S. Marshal pris-oners and one Bureau of Prisonshold in the jail, which currentlybring in about $6,500 a day orabout $190,000 a month."If we're able to keep thatnumber (of U.S. Marshal pris-oners) above 150, then it willgenerate more than projected,"Abreo said. "As long as ourown population remains stable,or below 180, we will continueto take Marshal prisoners up to170."That would generate $9,010per day for the county and$270,300 per month. Abreo saidshe expects to rent that muchjail space by May 1, and that thejail should be able to maintain150 to 170 U.S. Marshal holdsafter that date until the effects ofcounty growth begin showingup in the jail.However, County AuditorLisa Smith said the countywould not likely make the bud-geted revenue expected thisyear for jail rental because thejail was scheduled to open inJanuary and ended up openingin March.The jail was budgeted tobring in $2.3 million, but Smithanticipates the jail only bringingin $1.5 million by Sept. 30. Theloss is offset by the reduction inbudgeted expenditures for themonths the new jail additionwent unused, Smith added."You have to keep in mindSee JAIL, Page 3A